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Stocks turned lower after a drop in mid-Atlantic manufacturing in October and an unexpectedly sharp rise in oil inventories. The Dow hit a 5 1/2-year low, while the VIX, a gauge of fear in the market, soared to a new record above 80.

AIG's former CEO said the company has “more than enough” assets to cover the $85 billion loan it received from the U.S. government, while inflation numbers took an unexpected turn for the worse and retail sales slumped again in September. Following are today's top videos:

Futures dropped a bit as retail sales were weaker than expected, Producer Price Index (PPI), a measure of inflation at the wholesale level, was in line, but core PPI was higher than expected...bottom line is that energy costs are dropping, and this will be a big help in the next quarter.

The chief executives of the nine largest U.S. banks trooped into a gilded conference room at the Treasury Department at 3 p.m. Monday. To their astonishment, they were each handed a one-page document that said they agreed to sell shares to the government, the New York Times reports.

Stocks ended lower as hoopla over the government's plan to buy stakes in the nation's largest financial institutions died down and worries about earnings crept in. The Dow ended down just 75 points after swinging in an 850-point range. The tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 3.5 percent.

To buy or not? That's the question facing traders today. Note that while financials are strong, the rest of the market is quite erratic. Only 4 of the 10 S&P sectors are up. That's due to questions about the global economy and earnings.